AFT Insulated Raft Supplier Ceases Trading

[LnP]

I'm shopping round for insulated raft suppliers and had been talking to AFT. I just got this email.  I wonder where this leaves any customers who have orders placed with them.

 

Dear Customer / supplier,

It is with regret that we at AFT have decided to cease trading with immediate effect.
 
AFT was formed to bring to the UK the considerable benefits of Swedish style insulated raft foundations.  To a large extent we achieved this successfully, and for the completed foundation we are confident in saying we achieved a 100% customer satisfaction.
 
Whilst the EcoRaft (and Groundshield) remain in our opinion the very best product  for constructing structurally robust and energy efficient foundations, the uptake in the UK has been disappointing.
 
Due to this, and the general economic climate in which we find ourselves, we have decided that we shall no longer trade in the UK and close our books, as it were, with immediate effect.
 
We would like to thank all of our valued customers, particularly those who chose EcoRaft for repeated projects, and those who helped AFT promote EcoRaft to a wider market.
 
We would also like to thank our suppliers and partners for the last 10 years, and wish you every success in the future.
 
Olof Christiansen 
Managing Director
AFT Ltd.

[-rick-]

Oh bollocks.

 

I had my eye on them as the preferred option if I ever find a plot.

Edited 5 hours ago by -rick-

[IanR]

Sounds like a managed close, so hopefully existing customers are safe.

 

A real shame. I do believe they offered the best product in the UK, although a few others were close, and when Olof was in the UK more, they offered a very good Service (can't speak for more recent times). 

[IanR]

@lizzieuk1 Did you get your Raft installed?

[LnP]

15 minutes ago, IanR said:

A real shame. I do believe they offered the best product in the UK, although a few others were close, and when Olof was in the UK more, they offered a very good Service (can't speak for more recent times). 

Which others do you think came close? I'd like to know who I should add to my shopping list.

Thanks

[Bancroft]

39 minutes ago, LnP said:

Which others do you think came close?

Is the JACKODUR Atlas Foundation System a similar set up?

 

We haven't used it ourselves but our ICF builder has used it and seemed happy with it.

[LnP]

3 hours ago, Bancroft said:

Is the JACKODUR Atlas Foundation System a similar set up?

 

We haven't used it ourselves but our ICF builder has used it and seemed happy with it.

Interesting. I've not come across these people before. Their website gives the impression they don't have a presence in the UK, although it's all nicely presented in English. I'll drop them a line.

Thanks

[IanR]

4 hours ago, LnP said:

Which others do you think came close? I'd like to know who I should add to my shopping list.

Thanks

Depends what you're measuring/comparing.

Personally I'm comparing cost, performance, flexibility of system, ease of install.

If performance is your main comparator, then all on this list below can achieve performance beyond PassivHaus (I believe), although maybe not all are PH Certified, and some will require specific super structure construction to fully avoid cold bridging.
 

If you want a full package, Design, Supply and Install, then it's difficult to avoid the premium price that Insulated Rafts attract in the UK and most of packaged options in the list above will be similarly priced and that price will suggest that an insulated raft is more expensive than a traditional foundation system. It is better performing so most accept the additional cost.

If your focus is very much on cost as well as performance, then there are two areas of an insulated raft system that can be targeted. Self install allows you to avoid paying a premium for the labour, concrete and steel. It's difficult to avoid a small premium for the EPS as I don't believe there's any EPS Suppliers in the UK that will sell the bespoke forms direct to a retail customer. They all appear to be locked into whichever system uses their product. ie. Springvale EPS for AFT foundations.

You can also target the cost with an "optimised" raft, ie. one that is Engineered for the actual super structure that will be built upon it and not over-engineered with 250mm thick concrete and 3 layers of mesh when it's not required, as you end up spending twice as much on concrete and three times as much on steel as you need to.

 

AFT prefer you to self-install and their rafts were optimised for reduced concrete and steel. They also have different options for different ground conditions, performance and different timber/ICF/masonry super-structure construction, so are/were no one trick pony.

 

It was a while ago that I sourced my raft, and at the time only Tanner's system offered the same cost opportunities, although he didn't offer as many tailored solutions for non-Larsen truss construction.

MBC's rafts are optimised and good performing when combined with their Larsen truss structure, but I found them inflexible and only available as a package at a premium price, so the customer doesn't benefit from the cost optimised design.

Edited 25 minutes ago by IanR